Since you’re manning up, I’ll present this as more of an “encouragement” post than an argument...if it is Elliott.
Here are some coordinators who got their first head coaching job at big time programs and succeeded:
Bob Stoops-Oklahoma
Kirby Smart-Georgia
Mark Richt-Georgia
Phillip Fulmer-Tennessee
Chip Kelly-Oregon
Jimbo Fisher-Florida State
Dabo Swinney-Clemson (actually was just a WR coach)
Ryan Day-Ohio State
Lincoln Riley-Oklahoma
David Shaw-Stanford
So you see, there are actually more hires that turned out successfully in recent years from the assistant coaching ranks than from head coaching ranks. Or so it seems.
I agree with you that my preference is a proven head coach. But if we couldn’t land that, I’m going to trust White and his track record. There is plenty of precedent to believe that Elliott could get the job done. Not that he’s guaranteed to...but that he could.